Only When I Lose Myself
by Silverlight97
Summary: Following the defeat of Iblis, Silver embarks upon a new journey to tie up a loose end. However, his experiences along the way will push him to his very limit and may end up costing him much more than the world he's worked so hard to save.
1. The End at the Beginnig

**Author's Notes: Hello all, Silverlight97 here with my very first story uploaded to Fanfiction: Only When I Lose Myself. Silver is perhaps my favorite character in the series and I always feel that he gets a bad rap. I'm glad to see that he does have a nice following here though and I hope this story will be a part of it. A couple of things: First, I'm always open to critiquing, though I would prefer a PM so we can actually discuss it. I'm always looking to improve and will take any advice to heart and try to use it in my writing. Second: I'm not sure how you all feel about OC characters, but this story (and perhaps stories in the future) will make extensive use of one, Ashe. I made a short bio for her on my profile page, so feel free to check that out with a little bit of background info about myself.**

 **Anyways, this story begins immediately after the conclusion of Silver's story from Sonic '06 (I know, worst Sonic game ever) and takes place in a semi AU (one that doesn't involve that stupid emerald hunting and bestiality stuff) and will be told exclusively from a limited third person perspective. Like I said above, feel free to review or comment, though I would prefer a PM. I'll make an effort to respond to everyone that reviews or messages me withing 12 hours. I do hope you guys enjoy, see you at the end of the chapter.**

Disbelief, shock, frustration, despair: Silver didn't know what to feel. Watching her float away like that, it felt like a hole was being burned through his chest. Why her? Why did she have to go and not him? It wasn't right. Iblis was supposed to be his burden, not hers. And yet, it would only take her, and as soon as she knew, there was never any hesitation, never a moment of doubt. That was something he had always admired about Blaze. Tears were streaming down his face, he felt so broken; he felt like a failure.

But he knew that he shouldn't think like that, the only reason either of them made it this far was because of him, because of his successes. Destroying monsters time and again, to face down an angry world wasting god as it tore up the land around him. Traveling through time in hopes that there was a solution, only to find that the past isn't something that can be changed. Yet he fought on, standing against mountain sized machines with nothing but his force of will holding him on the spot. But then, she had always been at his side. Pushing him on, picking him up when he fell and motivating him to do better. He couldn't have done it without her…but what was he going to do now?

Silver managed to dry his tears and look around, the sight putting a smile on his face. The clouds were breaking and revealing a bright blue sky, the first time he had ever seen one here. Sunlight began to shine through as well, letting its rays give light for the first time in 200 years. All around him, the rivers of lava began to recede, back underground now that the reason for their unnatural presence was gone. He felt himself beginning to tear up a little again, this was her victory too, one she'd never be able to enjoy.

At his feet, the two gems that had made all this possible, the chaos emeralds, still sat after Blaze had dropped them. Silver picked them up and looked them over once more, admiring the beauty of their craft before placing them into his pack, certain that they would be useful again. Silver took one final look around before turning to head for home.

Crisis city felt different. Without the lava and flames, it just looked like a barren city. The buildings were charred, largely intact and though it would take time, they could rebuild everything that was lost. The future was out there, they just had to take it. That may have been Silver's biggest lesson at the end of it all, everyone was the master of their own fates.

The flight felt much shorter now that Silver didn't have to fight Iblis' demons and he arrived home in minutes. A pair of tall skyscrapers, almost entirely intact. He had lived with a colony of others, about 300 in total. A mix of survivors living day to day lives, never so much as thinking about the next day. Silver was excited, to be able to tell everyone for the first time in 200 years, there would be a tomorrow. Of course, it hadn't come without its costs.

Silver landed near the entrance to the hideout and was greeted by a small group who had come to investigate the sudden appearance of blue sky and sunshine.

"Silver, what happened? Where have you been?" A black fox said.

The black fox was a long time friend of Silver's named Ashe. They were the same age and had known each other since they were babies, bonding over their shared experience of having extraordinary power's. In Ashe's case, it was cryokinesis: the ability to control and generate ice with her mind. When Blaze first came, she was the only other one to reach out to her, though that may have been only because Silver did, or perhaps it was because she understood as well, what it was like to be burdened with such a gift. By the end, it didn't matter, as Ashe was nearly as close to Blaze as she was to Silver.

"It's over Ashe, we did it." Silver replied, embracing his friend in a hug, one that he so desperately needed.

"Where's Blaze? Is she right behind?" Ashe asked, returning the embrace for a moment before separating.

"No." Silver said bleakly, avoiding Ashe's crystal blue eyes.

"She didn't make it?" Another, deeper voice said. Silver turned to face the voice, a red husky named Barroch. Barroch was perhaps the closest thing the group had to a leader. He was much older than Silver and had served as a mentor when Silver and Ashe discovered their powers. He didn't ask because he cared for Blaze, but rather that he cared for Silver.

"No. Our plan was to seal Iblis within my soul, but it wouldn't accept me." Silver explained.

"How did you plan to do that?" Barroch inquired.

"With these." Silver said, taking the chaos emeralds from his pack and showing them to the others.

"These are chaos emeralds, they're incredibly powerful. Through them, we were going to trap Iblis' flames within my soul. It wouldn't accept me as its vessel. But it would accept Blaze...because her soul was already alight with flames."

"Then what happened?" Ashe asked.

"Iblis would only stay bound so long as the bearer never cried. Blaze decided it was too much of a risk, so she asked me to seal her into another dimension with the emerald's power." Silver continued. This garnered raised eyebrows from around the circle.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it happened and it worked. I managed to open a rift and Blaze drifted away with Iblis still bound to her." Silver finished.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Barroch said, placing his hand on Silver's shoulder.

"So what do we do now?" Ashe asked.

"Well, if Iblis is truly gone then for the first time in much too long, there is hope." Barroch said, taking a few steps away from the others, looking out over the now lavaless city. "And we should not squander this chance. There's so much we can do now. And we owe it to you Silver." Barroch finished, the other in the group nodded in agreement. Silver smiled, but was disappointed that the others only gave credit to him.

Blaze had always been an outsider, but he was hoping that just once, they could admit that she saved them. That she gave up everything for people who couldn't even treat her like a person. Ashe placed her hand on Silver's arm, a silent acknowledgement of what he was thinking and an assurance that she did appreciate all that Blaze did.

"We can expand out, maybe get away from this city and see what lies beyond." Silver suggested

"Of course, but this isn't something to discuss now. We should celebrate!" Barroch said, invigorated. People around Silver voiced their agreement with cheer, something Silver wasn't even sure they were even capable of anymore.

Wanting to move on, Silver walked inside and was met by more people who had been anxiously listen from just inside. He gave them a soft smile before one of them stepped up to him, an older fox named Maria, Ashe's mother. She wrapped Silver in a tight hug and whispered a soft "Thank you." Into his ear. She was almost overcome with emotion.

Silver began to move through the crowd, receiving pats on the back and words of gratitude as he did, a hero's welcome. Around him people were hugging and crying, others seemed to still be in disbelief. Silver slipped through, not wishing to linger. In that moment, he just needed to be away from the others.

Silver made his way up into the tower, towards the upper floors where the living area was. He found yet more people who were looking out the windows at the sky. Wanting to remain unseen, Silver continued upward towards the sleeping area, the remnants of offices. Silver made his way down the hall towards his and Blaze's room. Most of the others were uncomfortable around Blaze and they didn't want to give her a room, but Silver insisted she be allowed to sleep in his room.

It was a simple room with two cots. It was apparent whose bed was whose. Blaze's was neatly tucked and folded while Silver's was a mess of blankets more resembling a nest rather than a bed. He sat down and put his face in his palms, letting out a long sigh. It had been a long couple of days without food or sleep. He needed a nap; he wanted to lay down and cry even more, but he quickly realized that he wasn't alone. Standing in the door was Ashe, who had followed him up.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, stepping in with a warm smile on her face.

"It feels like I lost a limb, she was my best friend Ashe. She's gone because I wasn't good enough." Silver said.

"Don't blame yourself Silver, no one else could have done it. And knowing Blaze, she wouldn't have had it any other way." Ashe said, sitting beside him and placing an arm around his shoulder.

"I know, it's just…the shock hasn't worn off yet." Silver said.

"She was my friend too Silver, and I'm gonna miss her. But we can't focus on the past, there's a whole future out there that needs building. No one said it, but doing this…people are going to look to you more than ever for guidance. Anything you say is going to carry a lot of weight." She informed him. Silver nodded in agreement. People had already began to look to him for guidance, even before this whole journey. He wasn't the wisest, but he had a good heart and a strong sense of fairness. He always tried to think of how individuals would be effected when the others would ask for his opinion, and they valued this. It helped keep them focused and honest.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that responsibility. I mean, I'm only 14." Silver said, doubt tainting his voice.

"And you've been through more than anyone else here." Ashe said reassuringly.

"I'm no leader Ashe, I'm too naive." Silver replied.

"That's not a bad thing. It means you never forget about what's important. And I know that there's no one else who loves seeing other people happy more than you do. You're a protector Silver, that's something these people will always need. It was always Blaze's favorite thing about you." Ashe said, lifting Silver's spirits a little. Silver was glad that Ashe was around, it always helped his insecurities.

"We'll have to see. If the others ask for my opinion, I guess I'll have to give it then." Silver said, conceding a little.

"That you will." Ashe said with a smile. There was silence for a moment, Silver wasn't sure what she was waiting for at first, but decided to take a jab at it.

"Do you want to know what happened?" Silver asked.

"I wasn't going to ask. I figured you'd tell me the whole story when you were ready." Ashe replied.

"No, it's fine. I'll probably feel better when I get it off my chest." Silver said. "It's going to sound a little crazy at times."

"Then I'm sure it'll be a great story." Ashe replied.

"Alright, so two days ago I was out on patrol..." Silver began.

* * *

 **3 Hours Later**

Silver recounted the story of the last couple days in near perfect detail: from Mephiles to Sonic and Shadow and Amy to their plan to seal Iblis. The memory was still fresh, still burning. Silver was especially critical of his actions, constantly pointing out things he could have done better. Ashe just listened, asking questions when she was lost, offering support when Silver would get hard on himself.

"…and that was it, she was gone." Silver finished.

"That's quite the story Silver." Ashe replied, now standing across the room from Silver, who remained seated on his cot.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Silver asked.

"You mean, travel back in time to kill someone because a mysterious stranger said it would prevent all this without actually providing any evidence?" Ashe asked. Silver depressed a little, she made it sound kind of bad.

"When you put it that way…"

"I do. I think it was reckless and presumptuous but in the moment, you were both frustrated and emotional. I could see myself doing the same thing. And besides, it all worked out in the end, right?" Ashe continued.

"Almost worked out." Silver said softly.

"Yeah, but you did it, both of you. And because of that, we are all forever in your debt." Ashe said.

"Thanks Ashe." Silver gratefully replied.

"There seems to be one loose end though." Ashe said.

"That being?" Silver asked.

"What happened to Mephiles?" Ashe asked. Something Silver had never considered. Where was Mephiles? The last time Silver had seen him was when he traveled to the past with Shadow and he was sealed into that scepter. But he escaped that, eventually. He must have, because he appeared to Silver and Blaze multiple times. He wanted them to kill Sonic, but why? What was his motive? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good, that much Silver knew.

"I don't know. I assume he's still out there." Silver replied. "He's got a chaos emerald and knows how to travel through time, so he could be anywhere."

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Ashe asked.

"I'm sure of it. What makes me wonder about him is why?" Silver said. "Why did he want us to kill Sonic? What would he gain from it and why not just do it himself?" Silver wondered out loud.

"You said that Elise was the last vessel for Iblis and that Sonic was the trigger?" Ashe asked.

"That's right! Elise and Sonic were friends and to release Iblis, she have to cry. If I killed Sonic…then maybe that would cause Elise to cry and release Iblis!" It was all so clear to Silver now, the way Mephiles tried to manipulate him, he wanted Iblis to be freed.

"He must have succeeded though." Ashe said.

"What do you mean?" Silver asked.

"Look around you Silver." Ashe said. "Iblis was freed."

"But we sealed him…" Silver trailed off.

"Yes but, what if this could have all been prevented?" Ashe suggested.

"What are you saying Ashe?" Silver asked.

"I'm saying…what if you stop Mephiles?" Ashe replied.

"I-I don't know. I suppose that if Iblis is never released then none of this would have happened." Silver said.

"Do you think you could?" Ashe asked.

"I…don't know. I mean, I don't even know how Sonic died." Silver said.

"Then we find out." Ashe said.

"It's not that simple Ashe. You can't change the past." Silver said.

"Why not?" Ashe asked.

"Because, the past has already happened. Anything you try to go and do has already happened, it won't change anything, because your actions are just a part of it. Even if I were to go and try and stop Iblis' release, I'll fail because the world is still how it is." Silver explained.

"And you just accept that? What about Blaze?" Ashe argued.

"I've seen it Ashe. When Shadow and I traveled further back and seal Iblis and Mephiles: we weren't changing the past, we were a part of it. We always were supposed to go and seal them. And any attempt to go back in time and stop Iblis' release would only end in failure." Ashe looked at Silver in disbelief: she'd never seen him so defeated.

"It doesn't matter." Silver continued "If I'm destined to go back to the past and try and stop Iblis' release, whatever role I play in it, it'll happen. But it's not going to happen now." Silver finished.

"Then I guess that's it." Ashe said, a little saddened. Silver could see the change in his friend's mood. He stood up off the bed and wrapped her in a hug.

"Don't be sad, we've got a whole future out there. Let's focus on that." Silver said reassuringly.

"Yeah, you're right. And whatever it holds, we'll face it together." Ashe replied, sinking a little deeper into the hug. Silver leaned back slightly and looked into Ashe's bright blue eyes. He managed a nervous smile, one that she returned before leaning in close for a kiss, which Silver allowed. For a moment, Silver wasn't sure why he did. Perhaps it was the loss of Blaze and his need to not feel alone or maybe it was brought on by the happiness of their victory. Part of him always knew Ashe felt this way about him, maybe he was just to naive to act on it or maybe it was his feelings for Blaze holding him back. It didn't matter, in that moment, all he could focus on was Ashe and the future he hoped to build with her.

 **Ok, so that was a lot of dialogue there. I hope you all liked Ashe as well as some of the setup I've made for the world (yes, everyone wears cloths). Now, I'm currently both attending college as well as working campus dining services, so I can make no promise of any kind of update schedule. Though I will try and make efforts to update weekly, I may update sooner or later depending on how my life goes. But, until my next update, I hope you have a wonderful time.**


	2. An Uninvited Guest

**Well, here I am with your February 6th update. I'm glad to see that I've gotten some views and a few favorites as well. Also want to give a shout out to the person posting under the name "A Random Fan", I really appreciate the advice and kind words, thanks for being awesome. Anyways, here's chapter 2: An Uninvited Guest**

* * *

 **5 Years Later:**

It began to grow late as the sun set over the Meso River valley and the village that sat upon the shore of the river that ran through it. A small collection of rudimentary houses and other building, this village had taken on the name of New Astor and had served as the home for the survivors of Crisis City who had chosen to abandon the derelict city in favor of a more prosperous river valley. Despite Iblis' past interference, the soil remained largely fertile, and after a couple of seasons of rainfall, the valley was beginning to show signs of life once again.

As light began to fade, the inhabitants of New Astor worked to finish the day's chores: nets still had to be cast into the river, crops needed to be bundled and set away for safe storage, and the fields needed a final watering before anyone could call the day complete. The twin gifts of temperate weather and rainy spring ensured that this season would be the most fruitful yet. Though life was simple and the work was hard, spirits were at an all time high.

In the field furthest up the valley from the village, a single figure worked hard to water the soybean crops that had been planted in the field. The figure in the field was none other than Silver and with the assistance of psychokinesis, it made spreading water through the field a quick albeit draining task. Though he held a high position of respect as a leader in the village society, he insisted on the more difficult manual labor tasks. This field was just such an example. An ambitious project of Silver's own design. It had called for massive amount of toiling and planting, not to mention the work that went into digging the irrigation canals. Though his psychokinesis made much of the work easy, it was still a major investment of time and resources but it was finally beginning to show results, much to Silver's joy. Silver worked tirelessly: a simple labor for his people in his eyes. Still, maintaining a constant stream from a nearby irrigation ditch required a great deal of concentration.

His concentration would be broken by the approach of another, his bondmate Ashe.

"Hard at work I see." Ashe said, approaching Silver from behind and wrapping her hands around his midsection.

"Not really, just passing the time." Silver replied, releasing the stream and rotating into his lover's embrace, planting a small kiss on her forehead before separating.

"Winston's going to be at the meeting tonight, he says his latest expedition may have found something important." Ashe said.

"Another wreckage?" Silver asked.

"No, he said they brought it back." Ashe replied.

"Did he say what it was?" Silver asked.

"No, he said he wasn't even sure it was valuable. Just that he thought it was and that you'd like to see it." Ashe explained.

"We'll see." Silver replied, turning to look over the village below and the valley beyond. It was a favorite view of Silver's, seeing the sun crest below the valley's horizon

"We've come a long way." Ashe said, walking up next to Silver and taking his hand.

"We have." Silver replied. "You think she'd like the view?" Silver asked. Though he didn't state who "she" was, Ashe knew very clearly who he meant.

"Yeah, she would. I'm sure she's standing on some warm beach right now thinking the same about us." Ashe replied, putting a smile on Silver's face. These moments always made Silver miss Blaze the most, the moments he wished he could have shared with her.

"You wanna see something neat?" Silver asked.

"What?" Ashe replied curiously.

Silver walked several paces away and removed a glowing emerald from his pack, a Chaos Emerald.

"Really Silver?" Ashe replied when she saw the gem, obviously not amused. And rightfully so, Silver's progress with the emeralds and chaos control had proved fairly fruitless. He never managed to teleport more than a few feet and had utterly failed in any of his attempts to stop or even slow time.

"Trust me, I've gotten much better." Silver said, now slightly excited and he walked further until he was nearly across the field, Ashe just looked on in perplexity.

"If this doesn't work, you do this dishes tonight!" Ashe called across the field.

"You're on!" Silver said. He took a deep breath and held the emerald up. "Chaos control!" He called out and in a flash had vanished, nowhere to be seen. Ashe's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Silver?" Ashe said, looking over the spot where he had just been, usually she'd be able to tell where he had ported to.

"You called?" Silver said playfully, now standing behind Ashe, causing her to jump from surprise and causing Silver to break into a laugh.

"Think that's funny do you?" Ashe said turning to face him. With a deft motion, she placed her hands on Silver's ears and quickly cooled them off, eliciting a loud yelp of pain from Silver at the sudden rush of cold. "Say your sorry." Ashe demanded.

"Never!" Silver replied defiantly as he tried to wiggle free. Ashe's grip was firm as she cooled him further, but not enough to hurt him. Silver's defiance was quickly routed.

"Alright, I'm sorry for startling you!" Silver cried.

"And..." Ashe replied.

"And I'll do the dishes tonight!" Silver squealed.

"Good." Ashe said, releasing the now head chilled hedgehog.

"Why do you always go for the ears?" Silver complained, rubbing his ears in an attempt to warm them up.

"Because you make it to easy." Ashe replied playfully, turning to head for the village with Silver in tow.

* * *

 **That evening**

Seated around the table of the kitchen in Silver and Ashe's house, sat most of the village council's members. Though not as formal as a government of the pre-Iblis societies: It consisted of seven members, each elected by the people of Astor. Silver, Barroch, and Ashe were all members. Along with them, the monkey Karth, the cat Ferin, and the owl Lenore. The six that were present were quietly discussing among themselves, awaiting the arrival of the perpetually late and perhaps absent minded horse, Maxamillion who would be escorting the lemur Winston to and from the meeting, with the primary topic being his expedition and the treasure that he discovered.

Winston's expeditions out into the world were often long and fruitless endeavors to find other survivors or materials of use. However, Winston's exploration's hadn't been without some success. Much of the surrounding area was mapped in a several hundred kilometer radius. Winston would also rarely come home empty handed: often finding building materials, cultural works such as books, or even other survivors, though these are normally wanderers with no real clan. And if he believes to have found something worthy of the council's full attention, then it must have been something marvelous. Or, at least, that's what Silver thought. The others, however, seemed much more skeptical of this suddenly called meeting. Normally, the findings of an expedition would keep until the weekly meeting, but if Winston believed it to be important, the others wouldn't debate it.

The rather solemn atmosphere was broken by a knock at the door. Ashe stepped up from the table and into the living area to get the door. She returned a moment later with Winston and Maxamillion, who each took a seat at the table. Ashe also retook her seat beside Silver.

"Alright Winston, what's this all about?" Barroch began, visually annoyed but expressing calm patience in his tone.

"Well, my latest expedition took us through the Morrow Plains to the south. We were curious to see if there was any pass through the mountains south of the plains. However, before we reached our destination, we came across an ancient ruin of stone right in the middle of the plains." Winston began.

"How come you never saw this ruin before?" Lenore asked from across the table.

"Well, every time we cross the plains prior, we were up on this ridge." Winston said, pulling out a map of the plains and indicating their past route of travel. "Up until now, we had always just assumed what the terrain was like below. We decided to confirm that, and took this route." Winston indicated their most recent route and led it up until a spot marked on the map. "This is where we encountered the ruin: The Sunborn Altar."

"Where'd you come up with that name Winston?" Karth asked, looking as though he was about to start laughing at the rather corny name.

"It came with the name. Anyways, at the center of the shrine, there was an altar and upon that altar...was this." Winston explained, pulling something from his pack and setting it on the table. There, for everyone to see, was the red chaos emerald. Silver's eyes went wide, the fool Winston had found one.

"Why didn't you bring this to me immediately!?" Silver demanded, quickly grabbing the emerald. Winston was almost taken aback at first.

"I didn't want to disturb you with something that was potentially nothing when you were busy working." Winston explained.

"I think I'd like to know all the same." Silver said coldly. The emerald seemed genuine. It radiated its own light and was warm to the touch, though, there was only one way to be certain.

"I wasn't sure...I was hoping you could confirm it Silver." Winston said meekly.

"Control!" Silver called out. In a quick snap and flash, Silver vanished and reappeared in the living room, much to the startling of the others. The emerald was real.

"I guess that proves it." Ashe said, unfazed at Silver's quick test. Silver returned to his seat.

"You were right Winston, but in the future, bring anything like this to me immediately. It will be safer for everyone if the emerald is in my possession." Silver said calmly, still inspecting the gem, that made three. There was a round of agreement and nods, though Silver could tell their at only him possessing the emeralds. They all knew the stories of what the emeralds were capable of, but they were really in no position to argue. Silver was the only one that ever showed any ability to command them. And if there was anyone that could be trusted with the emeralds, it was him. Still, he could sense doubt and skepticism at times.

"Alright, now that that's taken care of, we have some more things to discuss." Barroch announced.

The rest of the meeting consisted of boring conversations about crop yields and potential housing expansion. Silver barely paid attention, the excitement at the acquiring of another emerald was far too distracting.

* * *

 **That night**

Silver had grown accustomed to being a light sleeper. Even light noises were often enough to rouse him, it was a consequence of the world he grew up in, always needing to be aware of his surroundings. So when he heard sounds coming from out in the living area, he awoke quickly. His first thought was Ashe, up and about, unable to sleep. However, a quick feel to his left quickly dismissed that possibility, as Ashe was still sound asleep beside him. Silver roused quickly from his sleeping position and out of bed. The quick motion awoke Ashe.

"What's wrong?" Ashe said sleepily, sitting up. Silver put up a hand to silence her as another sound was heard, which quickly roused Ashe as well who also jumped from bed.

"Stay put." Silver whispered quietly and crept towards the bedroom door, opening it ever so slightly, taking great care not to make any sort of sounds. Moonlight flooded in through the windows, illuminating certain parts of the room, though the source of the noise wasn't viable in them. Silver scanned the room and saw a figure, partly obscured by the shadows rummaging through a drawer, the same drawer that silver had placed the chaos emerald in. Acting quickly, Silver maneuvered himself into position to get the drop on the intruder and block his escape through the door. The burglar seemed unaware as Silver raided his palm, ready to act.

"Turn around very slowly and show me your hands." Silver ordered in the sternest voice he could muster. The obscured figure froze for a moment before raising his hand slowly, two Chaos Emeralds in his grip. Silver wanted to pull the emerald from his grip immediately, but he wanted to know who was doing this first. As the figure turned around, he elected to remain obscure, but once he was facing Silver, it was clear who he was dealing with. A pair of piercing green eyes was all he needed to see.

Silver's reaction was almost immediate: he gripped the dark hedgehog and pinned him up against the wall with a force that shock his house.

"Nice to see you too Silver." Mephiles said. The demon erupted a dark pulse from his body, staggering Silver and breaking his grip.

"Silver what was that!" Ashe yelled as she sprinted into the room, palm charged with ice. She quickly surveyed the situation and saw Silver attempting to regain his balance along with Mephiles, who was recovering the two emeralds he had dropped. She hurled a bolt of ice at the demon which he effortlessly dodged. This however, allowed Silver to recover and with his psychokinesis, griped the kitchen table and hurled it at Mephiles, knocking him into the wall. The dark hedgehog responded with a pair of dark energy blasts from his palms. Silver raised an energy shield to deflect them and sent out a shock wave of psychokinetic energy, knocking Mephiles back once again. Ashe responded as well, with a blast of ice at the dark hedgehog's feet, freezing them solid. His foe unable to move, Silver gripped the demon and held him in place once more, pinned to the wall.

The demon was unfazed, however, and emitted another pulse of dark energy, this one much stronger than the first. Silver was ready for this one and raised a psychokinetic barrier to shield himself and Ashe. The explosion rocked the house, and blew out the wall behind Mephiles, opening an avenue for escape. Mephiles began to channel a teleportaion spell but was interrupted by a revived counter attack from Silver who hurled several chairs at Mephiles, knocking him through the opening. Silver and Ashe quickly pursued Mephiles who had turned to flee and incant a teleportation spell again. He was interrupted this time by Ashe, who hurled bolts of ice at Mephiles, breaking his channel. Silver engaged the demon in combat once more, grabbing two nearby water barrels and hurling them at the demon who dodged them effortlessly. Mephiles attempted flight to get some distance and counter, Silver was quick in response, flying up to met him, landing his fist flat across Mephiles' face. The demon was staggered, but responded with more dark energy blast. Silver swerved quickly and flew straight into Mephiles, tackling him to the ground. The demon released another shock wave, sending Silver flying through the air. Silver managed to catch himself before crashing into the ground while Ashe engaged the demon with blasts of ice, which the demon countered with dark energy blasts before forcing Ashe back with an energy pulse. With some room to work, Mephiles conjured once more and called forth beasts that Silver recognized all too well.

Erupting from the ground between Ashe and Mephiles were three purple worms, one of which immediately dived at Ashe who only narrowly avoided the attack while the other two spits their spiked balls at her. Silver was quick to react, gripping the two balls and sending them back at the worms, both of which made contact and stunned them momentarily. Ashe followed up with an ice spike at each worm, destroying them. She continued her fight with Mephiles. Before Silver could join though, the third worm erupted from the grounds near him, sending him flying once more. Silver rallied in mid air, catching himself and countering, grabbing another water barrel and throwing it at the worm. The worm was staggered for a moment, allowing Silver to fly down and stun it with a psychokinetic blast before grabbing it and throwing it into the air, letting gravity finish it off.

Rejoining Ashe against Mephiles, the two worked in tandem to beat the demon back, never allowing him a moment to channel an escape. Ashe would conjure ice spikes and Silver would use them as projectiles against the demon who worked hard to deflect them. And though Mephiles was resilient, he wasn't perfect and as soon as he failed to deflect a spear which caused a drop in his guard, Silver went in for the kill. Leaping into the air and slamming down with a psychokinetic shock wave near Mephiles, sending the demon flying. Silver gripped him quickly, and hurled him back to the ground with a slam, subduing the monster.

"Hand the emeralds over Mephiles!" Silver demanded as the demon struggled to regain his footing, now severely weakened from the fight.

"I can't do that Silver." Mephiles replied, his voice as self confident as ever.

"We're not giving you much choice here demon." Ashe said coldly, as she conjured several more ice spikes for Silver before preparing another icy onslaught for herself. Around the three fighters locked in standoff, the other residents of the village began to come outside to see what all the commotion was about. Silver wanted to motion for them to go back, if another fight broke out then they might be caught in the crossfire, but he couldn't take his eyes off Mephiles, especially not when he had two of the Chaos Emeralds.

"No, I'm giving you a choice." Mephiles said and began another channel. Suddenly a large purple golem burst into existence, turning its ire on the villagers, who were powerless to defend themselves. Ashe's reaction was immediate and engaged the behemoth. Silver, however, suffered a moment of hesitation. Mephiles knew better, he knew Silver wouldn't abandon the people he cared about, still, it was an underhanded tactic. Silver shot the demon one final glare before joining Ashe in subduing the titan, this wasn't over.

The villagers fled from the monstrosity's wake and while Ashe did her best to try and distract the golem with attacks, it seemed completely unfazed.

"Ashe, wait for it to reveal the core." Silver called out as he jumped in front of the monstrosity. The beast tried to attack the hedgehog with a powerful fist slam, but Silver easily dodged, floating up into the air and just out of reach. The golem tried a new tactic, creating a large rock to hurl at the flying hedgehog, exposing its core.

"Now!" Silver commanded. Ashe responded immediately, firing ice spikes at the golem's core, stunning it and causing it to drop its ball which Silver grabbed and promptly slammed down on the exposed core, vanquishing the golem.

Silver returned his attention to where Mephiles had been, only to see he had vanished, probably a thousand miles away now. Silver shook his head, the demon had gotten away with two emeralds. He set himself back down and was greeted by Ashe, who offered a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"There was nothing we could do." She said, trying to comfort the defeated hedgehog.

"I know. But we'll get them back." Silver said, before going to see if anyone was hurt.

 **Alright, well there you have it. I tried to make this fight seem somewhat realistic with Silver's established canon powers, but threw in a couple of other things I thought he should have. As for Ashe, well, cryokinesis is often poorly defined in fiction, some make it out to be magic other have characters make use to water: anywhere from ambient water vapor to water from rivers and lakes. I went for a middle ground in that she can conjure ice in a similar way to how pyrokinetics can conjure fire, but I just want to be clear that it isn't magic, but more of a "Last Airbender" style firebending, but with ice instead of fire. Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Catch you all next week.**


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